India searches for students washed away in river surgeby Staff WritersShimla, India (AFP) June 09, 2014

Brazil floods kill nineRio De Janeiro (AFP) June 09, 2014 -
Flooding caused by torrential rains over the weekend has killed at least nine people and left three missing in southern Brazil, officials said Monday, declaring an emergency in 77 towns.

The flood-hit areas include the state of Parana, whose capital, Curitiba, is one of the 12 host cities for the World Cup, which opens Thursday.

The worst-affected areas however are located around 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Curitiba.

More than 55,000 people's homes were flooded in the 77 towns where Parana Governor Beto Richa declared a state of emergency.

Richa announced six million reais ($2.6 million) in emergency aid to help victims and to restore water and electricity supplies.

President Dilma Rousseff promised via Twitter to get "all necessary support" to victims.

The celebrated Iguazu waterfalls, some of the largest in the world, saw 30 times their normal volume Monday because of the rains -- 47.5 million liters (12.5 million gallons) per second, said state power company Copel.

The national park around the falls, which border Argentina, has closed footbridges and suspended boat tours for safety reasons.

In the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, 24 cities were flooded and at least 16,000 people affected.

The Itajai Acu river was 10 meters (33 feet) higher than normal, and nine roads were closed.

And in Rio Grande do Sul state, the rains caused a 70-meter road cave-in that swallowed two cars. The passengers escaped with light injuries, news website G1 reported.

Rescuers found five bodies Monday and were searching for 20 more people feared dead in northern India after they were swept away by a sudden surge of water released from a dam, officials said.

Rescue workers were scouring the Beas river for 19 students and a guide who were missing after being hit by the wall of water on Sunday night in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.

The engineering students, who were on a college trip, were standing on the banks of the river taking photographs when the water came racing downstream from a hydroelectric power plant.

"So far five dead bodies have been retrieved," the National Disaster Response Force said in a statement.

Fifty students had been travelling on buses to the tourist hill station of Manali when they stopped in the Kullu Valley, some 200 kilometres (130 miles) from the state capital of Shimla, officials said.

As the search continued, anger mounted among students and teachers who said they received little warning before the water hit.

"I tried rescuing four or five of them but in a matter of seconds, the water had risen to five to six feet," he said.

"My friends lost their footing and drowned before my eyes," he said.

Some 84 soldiers, divers and other rescue workers were searching for the students as their distraught parents arrived from the southern city of Hyderabad where they all live.

Rescuers were seen combing the banks of the river, while others in kayaks and inflatable dinghies were checking the water downstream. Television footage showed soldiers carrying a body bag from the river to a waiting jeep.

"It is very difficult to retrieve the bodies due to deep cavities at the dam site," senior police officer Rakesh Kanwar told reporters.

- Inquiry ordered -

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh ordered an inquiry into the cause of the accident, while local media reported that several engineers from the state-run Larji power project have been suspended.

"If any negligence is found on anybody's part, suitable action will be taken," Singh told reporters from the site where a string of top politicians gathered throughout the day.

India President Pranab Mukherjee expressed his sadness at the tragedy and urged authorities to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

"Necessary action may please be also taken to investigate the cause of the accident and ensure that such mistakes do not happen in future," the president said in a statement.

Mandeep Singh, an engineer from the hydroelectric plant, said a "warning hooter" was sounded before the water was released but "the warning was not heeded."

An unnamed student told reporters that "many of us did not understand the warning sound and by the time we did it was too late."

Himachal Pradesh and other Himalayan states, including neighbouring Uttarakhand, are home to a string of hydroelectric projects as India rushes to expand power generation to meet rising demand.

Rescuers battle to aid Afghan flood victims as toll hits 80Kunduz, Afghanistan (AFP) June 08, 2014
Rescuers scrambled Sunday to deliver food and medical supplies to Afghan families marooned on mountaintops after flash floods killed 80 people in a remote northern district, washing away hundreds of homes and forcing thousands to flee.
The death toll was expected to rise, with scores of people said to be missing in the mountainous district of Baghlan province after torrential rains unleashed ... read more

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